Trump's 'Darth Vader' skewered for withholding states' money

During his testimony before the Senate Budget Committee on Thursday, White House budget director Russ Vought — deemed “Darth Vader” by President Donald Trump — found himself under fire due to accusations that the administration has “frozen” hundreds of millions of dollars approved by Congress to fund anti-poverty, educational, and other programs. The refusal to spend the congressionally appropriated funds, suggested the committee, may violate the Impoundment Control Act, which was created in 1974 over concerns that President Richard Nixon had abused his power by withholding funding from programs he opposed.

Vought denied these claims, repeatedly saying, “We have not impounded anything.”

Congress, however, did not agree, having found that the Trump Administration had impounded roughly $810 million via a number of mechanisms. In some cases, withholding action was taken within the legislative branch’s Government Accountability Office, and in others, the White House successfully pushed Republicans to authorize rescission packages that slashed cash from programs disliked by Trump, such as Head Start and PBS.

“They absolutely impounded,” declared Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR). “He just lied to America. The power of the purse under our Constitution belongs to Congress. Certainly any bill passed by Congress has to be signed by the president, but once that bill has been signed by the president, the president has a responsibility to execute that plan.”

But, argued Vought, the administration needed to ensure funding “is consistent with our agenda.”

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) did not agree, saying, “You’re not a legislator. You are ministerially supposed to allocate the funds that are appropriated. If Congress had appropriated money for housing on Mars, my belief is your job is to administer, not make that judgment.”

Even Republican Chuck Grassley (R-IA) took Vought to task, saying that Congress was “not getting any answers” as to why the funding was delayed.

“Congress has appropriated money. You don’t have the authority to impound it,” said Grassley. “I want those quarterly allotments released.”

Vought offered little in the way of substantive response, repeatedly shaking his head and denying the committee’s claims.

Merkley was not impressed by these denials, saying, “If the bill’s been signed into law, his constitutional responsibility is to fund that program, distribute the funds in the fashion in law. Mr. Vought has refused to do that. He has broken the law time and time again, and in so doing — because this is constitutional — he is breaking the Constitution.”

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